Ignition-timer.



w. B. s. WHALBY & E. P ROBINSON.

IGNITION TIMER. APPLICATION IILBD MAILZE. 1910.

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W. B. S. WHALEY & E. P. ROBINSON.

IGNITION TIMER. APPLICATION FILED NtAIhZS, 1910.

1,039,867. t 3 Patented Oct. 1,1912.

4 SHEET S-SHEET 2 w. B. s, WH,ALEY.& E PL ROBINSON.

' IGNITION TIMER.

'APIYLIOATIION FILED MAB.25I1910.

1,039,867, r Patentgd Oct. 1,1912.

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I W. B. .S. WHALEY- 80E. P. ROBINSON.-

IGNITION TIMER. IAPPLIGATION FILED MAR.25, 1910.

Patented Oct. 1, 1912.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

1 1 29 2 3 69 1:1 I! I ll 5 B a l I2II 51 2487 60719:

"UNITED sra'rns PATENT. onnron.

WILI ZIAM B. SMITH WHALEY, OF NEWTON, AND EDWARD P. ROBINSON, OF MAIDEN,

MASSACHUSETTS, AS 'EGNORS T0 REVERSIBLE GAS-ENGINE COMPANY, A CORPORA- TION 0F MAINE.

IGNITION-TIMER.

Patented Oct. 1, 1912.,

Application filed March 25, 1910. SeriaLNo. 551',ll5.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that we, WILLIAM B. SMITH lVrIALEY and EDWARD P. ROBINSON, both citizens of the United States, residing, respectively, in Newton, county of Midd-le'sex, and State of Massachusetts, and in Malden, count-y of Middlesex, and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Ignition-Timers, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

The present invention vrelates to an ignition timer for explosive engines, the purpose of the invention being to arrange the timer so that the traveling contact will stand in such position as to ignite the charge in the cylinder in which the piston is ready to start the engine ahead, regardless of the position in which the engine may" come to rest; and to ignite the charge in the following cylinder just after the piston therein has crossed the dead center. By this expedient, any multi cylinder engine having more than two cylinders can be started by turning on the current, assuming that the explosive mixture is in the proper condition.

A further feature of the invention consists in such aeonstruction of the timer as will render it possible to start in either di- 'rection a four-cycle englne having six cylinders, or a two-cycle engine having three cyltiohiary timer contact members are elongated,

so that the traveling contact member will remain in contact with one member until it standing that, so far as relatesto the self-.

starting feature alone, the timer is applicable to engines having a fewer number of cylinders.

In a reversing engine of the four-cycle type, it is necessary to shift the cams, or otherwise control the functions of the inlet and exhaust valves of the several cylinders, but, as this construction does not enter into the presentinvention, it is not necessary to describe any specific means for accomplishing this purpose, it being assumed that the cams are shifted, or the engine tl1cs ;\*i.-:c brought into proper condition for reversing either through the agency of the timer actuator, or otherwise.

In a six-cylinder engine having the pistons arranged in pairs and the cranks also arranged in pairs, the pairs being 120 apart around the crank shaft, it is obvious that when the engine comes to rest after ignition has ceased, the most natural position.

will be with one pair of pistons at the ends of their outstroke, and two pairs of pistons each equidistant from the cylinder heads, and with their cranks 120 inclined in opposite directions. Taking the position of the several pistons with relation to the travel ing timercontact, the three pistons ready to act will. be in thefollowing relation: The timer contact will stand approximately 30 beyond the normal late sparking point of the cylinder in which the piston would have been traveling outward under the impulse of the explosion had the engine remained running. The pistonin this cylinder is on its outstroke for forward action of the engine, and the cylinder contains a partially com.- pressed charge. The piston in the cylinder which would follow this one in the ordinary cycle also contains a partially compressed charge and' is in the same position with relation to the cylinder head, but with its pitman inclined in the opposite direction.

The piston in' the cylinder following this is v the one which stands at the bottom with a full charge in the cylinder ready to be compressed during the instroke. Underthese conditions, it is obvious that if the timer member is moved in the direction in which it would be moved during the operation of the engine to. retard the spark, the contact belonging to the first of the cylinders abom enumerated will reach the traveling'contact, thus producing an exploslon in the said cylinder, which will' start the engine ahead.

If, on the contrary the timer member is moved in the opposite direction, untilthe.

contact belonging to the next cylinder in the firing sequence reaches the traveling member, the engine will start in the reverse direction. In order to start'the engine,

therefore, it is necessary only to afford means. for moving the timer controlling member.

through an arc which is a little greater than the distance between 'two successive contacts thereon. It is obvious, however, that with the ordinary short contacts, the spark in the second cylinder of the firing'sequence will position thetraveling member will come intocont-act with the timer segment just after the piston has passed the dead center. Since the elongated contact extends from this point to a point adjacent to the next contact in the series, it is obvious that an explosion will take place regardless of the position of the piston "in the cylinder, and will be fol lowed by a comparatively early explosion in the cylindernext following in the firing sequence, since the traveling contact member will reach-the next segmentwhen the piston in the cylinder fired thereby is, substantially at the top.

Vhile the position above described is that in which the engine will naturally come to rest, it sometimes happens that one ofthe pistons will come to rets substantially on a dead center at the inner end of the cylinder with the compressed charge behind it. This cylinder will be thesecond one in the firing sequence, whichever way the engine travels, and the cylinder behind it in the firing sequence will be the one in which the piston is in position to 'start' the engine ahead, while the cylinder beyond itin the. sequence will be the one in which the piston is in the position to start the engine in the reverse direction. Both of these pistons, moreover, will be in an unfavorable position, vi z., with the cranks only 60 at either side of the lower dead center position, and the charge approximately two-thirds expanded.-

In this case, however, the traveling timer contact, whether the engine is set for the ahead or everse movement, will be near one end or the other of the elongated distributing. contact, so that a very slight' movement of the crank shaft will cause said traveling contactto come into engagement with the distributing'contact belonging to the next cylinder in the firing sequence, in which cylinengine.

-sirable to prevent" any der the piston is nearly atthe top with a fully compressed charge behind it. The slight crank shaft movement due to the -pressure of the charge in the first cylinder, when ignited, is, therefore, sufficient to carry the piston in the next firing cylinder, past the dead center, and to cause the ignition of the chargein said cylinder. .Under these conditions it will be seen that if the ignition of the charge in the starting cylinder will produce sufficient pressure to move the piston therein at all, the resulting moi'e ment of the crank shaft will bring the second cylinder of the firing sequence into action with full power, thus starting the Since the long contacts are arranged, as previously described, so close together that the ignition circuit cannot be broken through the timer in any position thereof, the'insulation being bridged by the traveling contact, it is obvious that the tiirer cannot be placed in any'position in which a spark will mot be produced in at least one of the cylinders. Under'jsome circumstances, of course, sparks will occur simultaneously in two' successive cylinders, but this is not detrimental in view of the fact that at the time such double ignition occurs the pistons in both .of the said cylinders are on their outward stroke. \Vith the engine stationary, for example, substantially in the position above described, but with the second piston of the sequence ten dcgrees past the dead center, ignition will-take place in both the first and second cylinders of the firing sequence, the charges thus acting on the two pistons simultaneously. While a timer provided with elongated contacts of this kind will be available in continuons operation of the machine, and may be utilized to advance or retardthe spark in the usual way, it-entails a great waste of current, since the circuit is continuously closed during the operation of the vengine with a timer operating in this way.

A further feature of the invention, therefore, consists in providing the timer with short hontacts and with means for transfertimer is to be usedin connection with a sixcylinder reversing engine, to provide the controlling member wlth a separate device for advancing "the spark in, the ordinary running of the engine, instead of relying upon the shifting device by which, the timer member is moved from one extreme position to the other for ahead or reverse operation of the engine. It is, furthermore, de-.

the engine in' the direction desired. To this ossible closure of means? end, the timer member is provided with a; main operating handle arranged to operate between limits so as to move the timer a distance slightly greater than the distance between adjacentccntaots, the said handle also being provided with a locking device and circuit controller so arranged that the circuit can be closed only when the handle is locked in either of its extreme positions/ T he timer member is also provided with a supplemental handle which can be moved after the engine has been started for the purpose of advancing the spark from the normal late position where it is placed by the main operating handle in order to speed up the engine when in operation. Thishan- 1 dle may also be arranged to shift the'circuit controller from the long to the short timer contacts, such shifting taking place upon the first movement of the controlling handle from its normal position. In order to insure the stopping of the engine with the timer in the proper position and the long contacts in operation, the secondary controlling handle is so connected with the main controlling handle that it is brought into parallelism therewith by thatinovement of the rrain handle which unlatches the same and breaks the circuit to stop the engine. VJ hen, therefore, the main controllinghandie is operated to stop the engine, the ignition lead, if the engine has been running with ignition advanced, is removed andthe timer is left in'a fixed normal-retarded position with the end of each segment in such a position as to fire a charge ten or fifteen degrees late in the cylinder to which it belongs and this condition cannot be changed by any manipulation of the device, the only operation possible being to shift the main lever across from the ahead to the reverse position. or vice versa, before the engine can be started. 1

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the timer embodying the invention, with the,handles shown in the position to which they are moved when the engine is to be started ahead; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same, partly in section; Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing the position of the timer when the engine is stopped; Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the parts in proper position when the engine is running and the spark is somewhat advanced; Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on line 02 of l ig. 7 Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on line at of Fig. 8; Fig. 7 is a vertical section on the line :0 of Fig. 3;-Fig. 8 is a vertical section on the line a?" of Fig. 4; Figs. 9 and 10 are detail plan views; Fig. 11 is a diagram showing the positions of the pistons in a siXcylinder engine when the engine comes to a standstill. in the most likely position; Fig. 12 is a developed diagram of the distributing contact n amber of the timer with the position -.of the traveling contact member shown to correspondto the piston position in Fig. 11 and in position to start the engine ahead; Fig. 13 is a similar diagram of the timer member in position to reverse; Figs. 14, 15 and 16. are diagrams similar to Figs. 11, 12 and 13, but showing the piston positions after the crankshaft has traveled one-half a revolution beyond the position shown in Fig. 11; and Figs. 17 and 18 are similar diagramsshowing a four-cylinder engine.

In order that the construction and operation of the timer may be more fully understood, the general operation of the engine will first be described with referenceto the diagrams Figs. 11 to 18. As has been previously stated, a-siX-cylinder engine, unless influenced by abnormal frictions or forces other than those exerted by the expansion 3 would be charged with gas and about to begin its compression stroke. In these three cylinders all the valves will be closed, and it is obvious, therefore, that, since the piston in cylinder 1 was traveling outward when it stopped, while the piston in cylinder 2 was traveling inward, while the cylinders corresponding to said pistons each contains a full charge, these two pistons naturally come to a balance, while the piston in cylinder 3 will tend to remain at the end of its outstroke, since its inward movement would be resisted bvthe force necessary to compress the charge contained there1n.- This being the condition, the traveling timer contact a would have passed the initial firing position for cylinder 1, it being obvious,

therefore, that in order to startthe engine ahead, it is necessary only that thb distrib 1ting member of the timer shoiild be in such a position that the traveling contact a is in engagement with the distributing contact 1 as shown in Fig. 12, while, to reverse the engine, the distributing member must be in such a position that the member a is in contact with the member 2 If, however, the

ordinary small contacts are employed, it is obvious that the late position of the sparking contact necessary to ignite the charge in cylinder 1. will be followed by a correspondingly late sparking position in the successive cylinders unless the timer member is rapidly manipulated to advance the spark after the engine has been started. In order to obviate the necessity of such manipulation and to render the operation entirely automatic, the distributing member of the timer is arranged, as shown, with long contacts, separated only by 1 rrrow strips of &

insulation to insure the distribution of the current, the said strips being shown as so narrow as to be bridged by the traveling contact member-when it passes from one distributing contact to the next, so that the ignition c 1rcu1t 1s contlnuously closed; and in a reversing engine the sald timer member 18 provided with an operating handle arranged to travel through an are slightly greater; than the distance between successive points of ignition, the arrangement being such that when the engine is ata stand-still the role tion of the timer member to this handle is fixed and unchangeable. The position of the distributing member with relationft'o. the said handle is such that when the handle is moved to either extreme, the distributing contact will be so related to the traveling contact as to close the circuit in eaclr sucs ceeding cylinder'in the normal late sparking positionapproxi'mately ten or fifteen degrees past the dead center. In the construction shown in the drawings, the Late sparkingposition controlled by the main operating handle is indicated as approximately ten degrees past the dead center. When, there fore, the distributing member is in this position, it is immaterial what position the first piston is in when the charge is ignited, since ignition will take place in the next cylinder near the beginning of the outstroke.

Assuming, for example, that the engine is to be started ahead, the distributing member will stand approximately in the fosition shown in Fig. l2injwhicli the mem er a is.

in contact with the memberl so that upon closing the circuit the charge in cylinder 1' will be fired.

, The movement of the member a in the direction of the arrow brings it into contact with the member 2* just after the piston in cylinder 2 has begun its 'outstroke, so that the full expansive effect of the charge is obtained in that-.0 linder followed by the same effect in the ft illowing cylinders in the sequence. If the engine is to be reversed,

the distributing member is moved to such a.

' position as to bring it-into that relation to .the member at indicated in Fig. 13, thus producing'an explosion in cylinder 2 which is followed by an explosion in cylinder 1, and

then 6, 5, 4, 3,&c.

It is assumed that means are provided for reversing the functions of the valves, when the engine is reversed, the exhaust valves of cylinders 6 and 5' being'closed, insteadof,

Since the It sometimes happens that the engine will not stop in the position above described, but may stop advanced onehalf a revolution, as shown in Fig. 14, or, of course, there may be some intermediate position, but so far as relates to the relation between the timer and the cylinders, these two positions may be regarded as extremes, and any intermediate position will be taken care of, as may be readily seen by reference to the diagram. Assuming, however, that the engine has stopped in the position shown in Fig. 14, the piston belonging to cylinder 1 will have completed its outstroke and will have begun its instroke with its exhaust valve open, and cylinders 2 and 4 will have their valves closed and their pistons substantially bal anced with the pit-men inclined in opposite directions, but with their, cranks 120 from the top, instead-of as is the case with cylinders l and '2 in Fig. 11. Cylinder will have both its valves closed, its piston at the top of the stroke, and a charge under {full compression behind the piston. The timer, contact a will, when the distributing member ofthe timer is moved to'its initial starting position above described, be in en- [since the piston in cylinder 3" is on a bal ance wit-h the tendency of the compressed charge ready to force it outward as soon as the pitman is thrown off the dead center,

Aslight movement of the timer contact a, moreover, brings it into engagement with the distributing contact 3, so that the (01111 pressed charge in the cylinder 3 i ignited at oiipe thus giving a full starting impulse to the engine, as above described. To reverse the engine, the distributing member is moved to its extreme opposite position, the arc of movement, as above described, being slightly greater than the distance between successive ignition points, the result being that the member a will come into contact with the member 4 as shown in 16, thus starting the engine in the opposite" direction, the explosion in the cylinder 4 being immediately followed by one in cylinder 3, the sequence then continuing 2, 1, 6, 5, &c. y

- After the engine has been started, a separate manipulating device, which will be hereinafter described, is employed to bring the short contact members 1 2, &c., into operative position, and the timer is provided with a suitable manipulating device for advancing and retarding the spark in-' dependent of the initialpositioning devices therefor for starting the engine, so that no unnecessary current expended.

- While the timer herein shown is especially designed and adapted for use in a six-oylin- Ito 4 short contacts 1 2 &c., are located at the initial ends of the long contacts, instead of being located in the middle thereof, since the operation of advancing and retarding the spark is carried on with relation to the travel of the engine in one direction only.

In the construction shown, for use with the six-cylinder reversing engine, the long and short distributing contacts 1, 2", 1 2 &c., Fi 1, are each formed in one piece, the

short contacts consisting of projections locat-ed at the middle of each contact piece, the outer edge of which'is preferably inclined toward said projection, so that the traveling contact member a which is arranged to be moved from the long to the short contacts, w ill cause a gradual transfer from one to the other. These contacts are mounted inthe usual way upon an insulat ing support which is friction-ally held upon an oscillating member (Z provided with a handle (Z which. is movable along a guide segment 6 having limiting members shown as recesses e at opposite ends, the distance between the limits being such that the member (Z will be shifted by the movement of the handle (11 a distance slightly greater than the distance between the initial firingpoints of any two successive cylinders. rangement is such that the ignition circuit is controlled by the handle (Z and can only be closed when the said handle is in one or the other of the extreme positions, the said handle being shown as having a pivotal support (Z and a tail or projection (i which is arranged, when the handle has been moved to either extreme position andv then rockedon its pivot, to lock in the slot 6 and to engage an electrical contact member f located below the said slot, as shown in Fig. 2. The handle d is also acted upon by a retaining spring (i The electrical connections-are herein shown, the contacts f, however, being provided with binding screws f to connect with the ground wire, while the contact members 1 &c., are provided with. binding screws .7) to receive the distributing wires leadin to the coil. In the construction shown, Fig. 7) the member d is shown as provided with a sleeve d which surrounds the rotating shaft a which carries the traveling contact member a, it being practicable to utilize this shaft as a mechanical device for shifting the valves in a reversing engine in which the valves are shifted mechanically.

It will be seen from the fore oing description that the engine cannot e started 1n either direction until the handle d is en- ;saged in one or the other of the notches e,

and so long as" the timer contacts are held in proper relation to the said handle, ignition will take place in the successive cylinders at thedesired period of the stroke, in order to keep the engine running. It is desirable, however, to maniplate the spark in running the engine, and also to utilize the short con;

tacts for the purpose of saving current. To thls end, the member 0 is movable with relatron to the member 0?, such independent movement, however, being prevented when the handle is in any position other than those permitted by the notches 6?. In the construction shown, the member 0 is positioned in the member d by means of a flange surrounding the said member, .but is capable of being oscillated independently therefrom. The said member 0, however, is under the control of the handle (2 through the agency of a yoke 9 connected with an arm d on the handle 03 the depression of the said handle to release the part (Z from the notch 6 cansin a longitudinal movement of the said yolre in which movement the said yoke engages one or the other of a pairof oppositely disposed pins or projections c on the member c which is connected with the member 0, as hereinafter described, thus turning the member 0 back to its initial position, regardless of the position to which it has been moved by the independent handle 0 with which it is provided for the purpose of manipulating the spark after the engine has been started. In stopping the engine, there fore, it is necessary, in order to break the circuit, to depress the handle (Z this operation bringing the timer member 0 back to its normal position with the-handle in line with the handle 03 as indicated in Figs. 3, 5 and 7, and the parts cannot be moved from this position so long as the handle d is in any intermediate position, since the segment 0 along which the said handle travels, prevents the upward movementof the handle (Z to the position shown in Figs. 1, Qand 8. Referring to Figs. 5 and 6, the latter shows the parts as if the engine were running and the spark advanced, the position being the same as that showm in Fig. 4. Upon depressing the handle 0Z however, to stop'the engine, the yoke g is moved, in this case acting upon the right hand pm 0 and rotating the member 0 until itis brought to stantially automatic, the independent movement of the handle 0", which cannot take place until after the engine has been started since the yoke is not until then moved out of the way of the'stops 0 is employed to shift the traveling contact member a, as well as to advance or retard the spark. In the con' struction shown, the saidmember a is connected'with a sliding. yokea atthe top of the rotating half time shaft a so that it is capable of being movedfrom the position shown in Fig.- 3, in which it engages the long portion 1", etc., of the contacts to the posi in the opposite direction is produced by means of a lever as engaging at its upper end the yoke a and having a tail a which rests. upon a vertically movable member a which is connected by a splinec with the member a. This .member 0 is provided along itsj'lojwer.surface, as shown in Figs.

7,8 and 9, with projections, which are an ran ed to ride up the inclined edges of raised sur aces d formed on the base of themem- ,ber 03', these inclined surfaces cooperating with each other just before the handle 0 is moved by the yoke 9 into alinement with the-handle 12?; ,When, therefore, the handle '0 is".in'alinement with the handle d (Figs. 3, 5 and 7 )1 the projections-c rest on the raised surfaces 03 thus holding the member c raised, and, through. the agency of the lever-a holdingthe contact member a in position to engage-the long contacts. After thehandle c has been released by the upward movement. of the handle d in start-' ing the en iiie, e., freed from the yoke g, the ihitial'movementof said-handle c away 1 spark, willfdisengage the projections 0 from the surfaces sdl, as "shown inFigsJ 6 and 8, and release the lever a in consequence of the downward movement of the member c throughthe action of the. spring cfl thus per-- i mitting the member a .to move outward through the influence'of the-spring a*-to .the

position shown in, Figs et andf8, where it 'will engagexthe shortcontacts only.-

From the foregoing description, it will'be seen that with a timer constructed'in' this way it is impossible tostart the engine unless'the initial osition' of the timer issiijch as to. produce't e desired result, there being no possibility of back firing, andno poserbility of making any mistake in the'direo tionfin which the engine i-sflto be operated.

The sepa'rate parts or thedistributing. meme" ber "of" the timer are locked j together in the proper position whenever the'main actuat-.

ing handle d 'isinoved' forithe purposeof [stopping-the engine, and it is impossible to ch'ang'egthis relation until after Ithe' engine has been started Furthermore, thefemploymentiof the long contacts insuresfthe posifrom the starting positionv to control thetive starting of the engine in either direction. Claims,

p 1.- An ignition timer provided with a traveling contact member having two diiierent paths of movement, and distributing contactsihavin'g parts insulated from each other, but extending entirely throughout one path of-the movement ofthe traveling contact ,member, and having other parts which are widely separated fromeach other, and which lie in the other path of movement of the traveling contact member; and means for shifting the traveling contact member from one of these paths of movement to the other.

2-. In an ignition timer, the combination with the traveling contact member; of the distributing contact member; distributing .contacts carried by said distributing contact member, each having a long and short contact portion; and means for shifting the position of one of said contact members with relation to the other to cause the traveling contact member to engage the short contact portions only of the distributing contact member when the en ine is running.

3. In an ignition timer, the combination With'a traveling contact; of a set of distributing contacts theconducting portion of which set of contacts extends along the entire path of travel of the t in electrical contact therewith, the several contacts being insulated from each other; a movable member carrying said distributing contacts; and means for shifting said movable membera distance slightly greater than the distancebetwe'en alternate distributing contacts. i

4. In an ignition timer, the combination with the-"traveling'contact member; of a- ,distributin'g contact member; a" main operatinghandle for said; distributing mem'ber;'

means operated bysaidhafidlefor prevent-' ingvignition from taking place; and connecting 7 mechanism whereby the; movement of said handle -whic zh prevent's ignition also sets the timer in positionfor' late ignition.

5.- In an'ignition"timer, ;the' combination with the traveling contactnie'inber of 'a distributing'contact member; a main operating handle for said' distribu tin member having a limited movement be means for preventing the. operation ofthe engine except when said main handle is at one extreme ,or the other of its limited movement; and a supplemental handiefor said'distributing contact member capable of being operated only when the engine is running I 6.,'In an ignition timer, a traveling contact; a distributing contact member' a main operating handle therefor movable rom one extreme position to another, said handle being capable eta secondary movement only when it is in eitherjextreme position; and

raveling contact,

tween stops;

connecting mechanism between said distributing member and said handle whereby said secondary movement of said handle brings said distributing member to a-definite predetermined position with relation thereto.

7. In an igniting timer, a distributing member frictionally held on -an oscillating base; a handle pivotally connected with said handle is in either handle provided with locking notches at opposite ends; contact members below said locking notches to close the circuit when the handle is moved into either notch; and

means whereby 'an independent, movement bf the distributing member is permitted only when said handle is in'either notch.

9. The combination with a distributing member provided with contacts having long member to positively act on said member and short contact portions; a traveling con tact member movable from the" path of the long contacts to the path of the short con-. tacts; an operating handle; switch contacts operated by said handle whereby the circuit through thetimer is closed or broken by the movement of the handle; a connecting device between said handle and said distributing when said handle is moved in one direction and to release said member when said handle is moved in the opposite direction; and means responsive to the independent movement of said distributing member for shifting the traveling contact member-between the long and short contact portions 10. The combination with a distributing member frictionally mounted on an oscillating base; a handle pivotally connected with said base; a yoke connected with said handle and longitudinally movable in response to the movement of said handle on its pivotal connection; engaging members on said distributing member adapted to be acted upon by said yoke; and a circuit controller also operated by themovement of said handle on its pivot.

ii. The combination with a distributing member; oil a main operating handle to move sai(laliatrihiting memberto the proper position f r starting or reversing; locking recesses oi' .ll(l handle in each position;

means' for opening the circuitthrough the --timer when said handle is movedout -of either locking recess; and means for frec-- Iing said distributing member fromthe con- !trol of said main operating handle, in response to the movement thereof into either irecess v w 12. The combination with a' distributing member provided with long and short con- ;tacts; of a'handle for operating said member having a pivotal movement whereby it-is locked in its initial position; a connecting device between said distributing member and said handle for bringing said distributing'me'mber to a predetermined position with relation to said handle by anunlocking movement thereof; means for releasing said distributing member from the control. of

said handle by the locking movement thereof; cam surfaces on the handle member; a member connected with the distributing member and operated by said. cam surfaces;

a traveling contact member; and. a lever controlled by the member operated by said cams to shift the traveling contact member between the long and short contacts aforesaid.

13. In an igniting timer, the combination with an oscillating disk; of anactuating handle pivotally connected therewith; a segment provided with looking notches at opposite ends and so located as to permit the movement of said disk only when said handle is disengaged from said notches; a

distributing member frictionally held on said disk; means connected'with said handle for bringing said distributing member to a predetermined position with relation thereto when said handle is moved to dis engage it from the locking notch; and means for producing an independent movementof said distributing member when said handle is in one of the locking notches.

v14. An ignition timer'p rovided with a main actuating device adapted to move the distributing member of said-timer to either of two predetermined positions; combined with means for releasing said distributing member from the control of said main actuating member after it has been thus moved. I5. An ignition timer provided with adistributing member; a main actuating device therefor adapted to move said member to either of two predetermined positions; and means whereby a further movement oil said actuating device when in either of said positions closes the circuit through the timer and releases said distributing member from the: control of said main actuating member.- V

16. In an ignition timer, a traveling contact; a set of distributing contacts extending throughout the entire path of travel of the traveling contact, but being insulated means for causing the traveling contact to from each other; a set of distributing Q011- names to thisspecification in the presence tacts Widely separated from each other; and of two subscribing witnesses.

I WILLIAM, B.,SMITH WHALEY. EDWARD P. ROBINSON. Witnesses:

GEOJ W. Mosns, LINVELLE I-I. HIGGINS.

ciose the circuitthrough either of said sets distributing contacts to the exclusion of the ,other.

In testimony whereof, We have signed our Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Omniissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

